Matt McVeigh - Theatrical production design

This scene describes Fish and Quick experiencing a moment of magic and heightened reality. The water and sky become one: “Quick looks over the side he sees the river is full of sky as well. There are stars and swirl and space down there, and it’s not water anymore. It doesn’t even feel wet.”

The boat pivots on the top edge of the rake to give a sense of elevation. The rake is back lit, revealing hundreds of stars as the front light goes down and the star curtain comes on. All that is left are two boys floating in a galaxy of stars.

Photo: Nathan Weyers

The fatal drowning of Fish Lamb takes place, suspended above the audience and characters. We see Fish struggling above before he is brought to ground level to be revived. However:“Not all fish Lamb comes back”.

The scene unfolds to emphasise the extremity of the accident and its impact on the Lamb family. Viewed another way, the event of the downing is almost a moment of ascension. It emphasises Fish’s existence; a person both retarded but who can transcend the boundaries that limit most human beings’ perceptions. He senses people’s emotions and he can communicate with Ghosts. He also teaches the characters around him, through his disability, to be better people and appreciate one another.

Photo: Nathan Weyers

Photo: Nathan Weyers

Photo: Nathan Weyers

Photo: Nathan Weyers

Photo: Nathan Weyers

Photo: Nathan Weyers

Photo: Nathan Weyers

Photo: Nathan Weyers

Photo: Nathan Weyers

Project: Cloudstreet

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, 2008

Written by Tim Winton, and adapted for the stage by Nick Enright and Justin Monjo

Director: Kate Cherry

Set Designer: Matt McVeigh

Costume Designer: Lauren Clark

Lighting Designer: Rob Anderson

Sound Designer: Peter Dawson

Set in post -war Perth, Two families flee their rural livings to share a huge house, Cloudstreet, in the Perth suburb of West Leederville due to personal tragedies that take place in their lives. The two families are contrasts to each other; the Lambs and the Pickles and the play follows the fluctuating fortunes and changing relationships of the families. The families’ story is told over a twenty year period and is a story that celebrates the notion of family and community at their best. The play is truly beautiful, metaphorical and moving and gives a voice to social minorities, the Australian working class and the disabled and is an ode to the artistry of Tim Winton’s writing.

The set design is minimalist and sculptural relying on texture, colour and shape to evoke a sense of setting and atmosphere. I was influenced by Australian aerial landscape photography and the various shapes found in nature such as wood, water ripples, sand dunes etc. I wanted a versatile space that could transform; representing the descriptive WA landscape settings in the play and also be quite intimate for the the various interior settings.